N.J. trooper pulled over women to ask them out, covered it up, state says

TRENTON -- A New Jersey state trooper has been suspended without pay after an internal investigation found he was pulling over women to ask them out on dates and falsifying police records to cover it up, authorities said.

Marquice Prather, 37, was arrested Friday on records tampering charges and released without bail, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice, which brought the charges.

Officials say the State Police Office of Professional Standards began investigating the trooper after several women lodged complaints about his behavior on the road.

The investigation found "a pattern of pulling over young women between the ages of 20 and 35 and soliciting them to go on a date with him or give him their phone numbers," authorities said in a statement announcing his arrest.

Prather is accused of turning off his wireless microphone during his encounters with the women and falsely reporting that it had malfunctioned. He is also accused of lying about the gender of motorists he pulled over in State Police computer logs to hide the fact he was targeting young women.

In addition to the women who came forward to lodge complaints, state authorities say they identified others during the course of their investigation who had been pulled over by Prather and "gave statements outlining similar alleged conduct."

The trooper faces charges of third-degree tampering with public records and fourth-degree falsifying or tampering with records.

Robert Ebberup, an attorney for the trooper, said his client would plead not guilty.

"We can't comment on the case until more information is available," he told a reporter.

State payroll records show the trooper joined the statewide force in 2013 and makes an annual salary of $60,749. He is assigned to the division's Holmdel station.

A State Police spokesman declined to comment on the allegations.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.